Choy Li Fut 蔡李佛
Choy Li Fut is the Kung Fu style we teach at our school. The style was founded in 1836 by a very talented man named Chan Heung. It is a traditional Chinese Martial Art that comes from the Shaolin Temple.
Choy Li Fut combines the agile footwork from the 'northern' Shaolin Temple and the complex hand techniques from the 'southern' Shaolin Temple. This makes Choy Li Fut one of the most complete health and self-defense styles.
Choy Li fut is characterized by the use of relaxed internal strength instead of stiff external strength, such as muscle strength. Not only does this have more effectiveness in combat, but it also gives the somewhat smaller person an advantage. The use of internal strength also has a beneficial effect on the health and development of the entire body.
Choy Li Fut shapes are circular, powerful, beautiful to look at, and effective in combat. Often one form already consists of 150 individual movements, all of which have a practical application to defend your self. Forms performed at top speed also provide a great workout, which has a very positive effect on your condition.
Compared to many other Martial Arts, Choy Li Fut has a wide range of techniques including long and short range punches, devastating kicks, deadly strikes and takedowns, fatal pressure point attacks, joint locks, wrestling techniques. This makes Choy Li Fut one of the most varied and versatile fighting systems on the planet.
Each form provides different aspects and concepts within the martial arts. There are 2 or 3 man sets to give the student the opportunity to get a real feel of how the techniques can be applied in a real fight.
Furthermore, Choy Li Fut has a wide arsenal of traditional Kung Fu weapons. 53 to be precisel, divided into short, long, double and flexible weapons.
Finally, Choy Li Fut also focuses on internal training such as: meditation and breathing exercises that combine the mind and body with traditional martial arts.
The name: Choy Li Fut
Chan Heung first learned the Buddha style from his uncle Chan Yuen Woo at a young age. Characteristics for the Buddha style are the open hand techniques. Buddhists initially do not want to kill and do not use any form of violence. His uncle saw that the 'little' Chan Heung had enormous potential to become good. After learning everything from his uncle, his uncle sent him to his older kung fu brother named Li Yau San.
That's where he learned the Li style. The Li style has a lot of big movements, also called 'long fist'. The many animal shapes and techniques in our system also come from Li Yau San. After learning everything with his second teacher, Li Yau San thought Chan Heung could go even higher. He gave a letter and address to find a monk from the northern Shaolin temple named Choy Fook.
Choy Fook lived like a hermit on a remote mountain in search of enlightenment. Choy Fook's level was generally known across China. After much effort, Choy Fook accepted him to teach Buddhism and his own Kung Fu style. After training hard day after day, his training was completed. Chan Heung returned to his village of King Mui to form all that he learned in one system. In the end, Chan Heung formed all his knowledge in one system and gave it a name.
The name is in honor of his 3 teachers Choy Fook, Li Yau San and his uncle Chan Yuen Woo. As you can see Chan Heung has not chosen to use his own last name for the name of his Kung Fu style. Instead, he chose the word Fut, which means Buddha. The word Fut is also a tribute to the Shaolin Temple. Where the Kung Fu has its origins and Buddhism is preached.
